Australia – whose land? A Christian call for recompense

Earlier in the week, Dr Adam gave the Second Annual John Saunders Lecture. The lecture discussed Aboriginal land claims, the history of injustice against Indigenous Australians, and appropriate Christian responses including the question of recompense.

The John Saunders Lecture is sponsored by the Baptist Union of NSW Social Issues Committee and seeks to address contemporary social and ethical issues in Australia from a scholarly evangelical perspective.

The Revd John Saunders (1806-1859) was an evangelical Christian with a missionary heart, a keen intellect, a gift for public speaking, and a passion for Christian social responsibility. He is best known for his temperance work and his advocacy for justice for the Aborigines.

His famous sermon on Aboriginal justice has been anthologised in several places, most recently in Sally Warhaft (ed.), Well May We Say… The Speeches That Made Australia (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2004).

The lecture was open to the public and admission free. A voluntary offering was collected to assist the training of Indigenous Christian leaders. A time of moderated audience response followed the lecture.

The Inaugural John Saunders Lecture, outlining the life and ministry of the Revd John Saunders, was presented by Revd Rod Benson on 1 May 2008.

The 2010 John Saunders Lecture was presented by David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.